Minnesota Life Insurance Company History
Minnesota Life Insurance Company was founded in the year 1880 by Russell Dorr and is the first life insurance company in Minnesota.
In 1901, Minnesota Life Insurance Company changed its structure to a mutual life insurance company and changed names to Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company, a name they kept for almost a century.
Minnesota Life Insurance Company is the largest affiliate company of Securian Financial Group, Inc. Securian Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company that offers a wide range of insurance and financial services across America.
Securian Financial Group Ratings (Minnesota Life)
Securian Financial Group insurance company affiliates are Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York authorized insurer.
Both receive high ratings from independent rating agencies that analyze the financial soundness and claims-paying ability of insurance companies.
These ratings reflect there stability, integrity, long-term focus and commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet. Securian Financial Group, Inc ratings are:
As of 2019, Securian Financial Group has nearly $1.3 trillion life insurance force, along with 93.4 billion assets under management.
Securian Financial Group is the 8th largest life insurance company with more than 21 million customers in North America.
Types of Insurance Products Offered by Minnesota Life
Minnesota Life Insurance Company offers many different types of life insurance products. It’s important to understand the difference between term life vs whole life and whole life vs universal life before making any decisions. Minnesota Life’s product lineup consists of the following:
- Term Life Insurance
- Whole Life Insurance
- Universal Life Insurance
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Accidental Death Insurance
- Accident Insurance
- Critical Illness
- Hospital Indemnity
- Annuities
- Retirement Plans
- Trust Services
- Credit Protection
Since we are a life insurance brokerage we will only be reviewing the life insurance products offered by Securian Financial Group (Minnesota Life Insurance Company).
Term Insurance from Minnesota Life Insurance
Minnesota Life’s Advantage Elite Select is a level term life insurance policy for 5-30 years depending on your age. The premiums are guaranteed for the term period chosen and can be renewed annually after the guaranteed period expires.
Premiums will increase each year and accelerate the older you get after you have reached the end of your term period.
Available Term Riders
- Conversion Option– Allows you to convert to a permanent policy with no health questions or exam.
- Accelerated Death Benefit Rider– Allows you to access a portion of the death benefit if you were to become terminally ill.
- Child’s Term Rider- You can add your child as a term rider on your policy.
- Waiver of Premium- If you become disabled your premiums will be waived.
Whole Life Offered By Minnesota Life
Minnesota Life Insurance Company, now known as Securian Financial Group offers two whole life insurance products. Whole life insurance is a permanent policy that has a guaranteed premium, guaranteed death benefit, and a guaranteed cash value component.
Both whole life products are participating policies, which means on top the guaranteed cash value, you may also earn a dividend based on the company’s profit for that year. Securian Financial’s whole life products are called:
- Secure Protector– The Secure Protector is designed for lifetime protection with low premiums. They offer a variety of short pay options for the consumer who wants to pay for a certain number of years and be done.
- Secure Accumulator: The Secure Accumulator is designed for cash value accumulation. It offers a lifetime guaranteed premium and cash value accumulation. What makes this product unique is the multiple dividend options to help build cash value faster.
Secure Protector and Secure Accumulator Comparison
Minnesota Life Insurance Company Indexed Universal Life (IUL)
Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL) is a permanent policy with a flexible premium, flexible death benefit and cash value accumulation. What makes the indexed universal life so unique is the way the cash value is accumulated.
In an IUL policy, a portion of you premium goes to pay for the cost of insurance and any fees associated with the policy. The remainder is invested into the cash value portion of the policy. The interest is tied to stock indices, such as the S&P 500 or Dow.
The unique part is all IUL’s come with a floor and a cap. The cap is the maximum amount of interest you will earn and they are around 10%-12% annually depending on which company you go with.
If the index that you choose returns a negative for that year, you receive the floor rate, which is usually 0%. You cannot lose with an indexed universal life policy.
IUL policies are not for everyone. If not structured properly, a premium increase is very likely in the future. So it’s important to fully understand how an IUL works before purchasing.
Indexed universal life is great for consumers looking to fund a LIRP.
Minnesota Life Insurance Company offers 4 different indexed universal life products:
Eclipse IUL
- Greater focus on tax-advantaged cash growth
- 5 different indexed accounts
- Has the potential to provide a guaranteed lifetime income
- 2% minimum interest rate on the fixed account
- Optional policy riders including chronic illness agreement
Eclipse Protector IUL
- Focus on a lifetime of protection
- Budget-friendly
- Moderate cash growth
- Guaranteed death benefit protection
Orion IUL
- WriteFit Underwriting
- Optimized cash accumulation potential when max funded
- Uncapped account options to maximize crediting interest rates
- 2% minimum interest rate on the fixed account
- Optional policy riders including chronic illness agreement
Omega IUL
- Built-in Income Protection Agreement
- Cost of insurance can be decreased by up to 59%
- Policy distributions may be enhanced by up to 29.7%
- 5 different indexed accounts
- Several optional policy riders
Minnesota Life requires no exam for the Orion IUL for consumers age 0-54 and death benefits up to $1 million. This program is called WriteFit and only consists of a phone interview for most consumers.
There a wide array of riders to choose from. Minnesota Life refers to riders as “Agreements”.
- Accelerated Death Benefit for Chronic Illness Agreement,
- Accelerated Death Benefit for Terminal Illness Agreement,
- Chronic Illness Access Agreement,
- Corporate Enhanced Values Agreement,
- Early Values Agreement,
- Exchange of Insureds Agreement,
- Guaranteed Income Agreement,
- Guaranteed Insurability Option Agreement,
- Income Protection Flex Agreement,
- Inflation Agreement,
- Overloan Protection Agreement,
- Premium Deposit Account Agreement,
- Surrender Value Enhancement Agreement,
- Term Insurance Agreement,
- Waiver of Charges Agreement,
- Waiver of Premium Agreement
Universal Life By Minnesota Life
Universal Life Insurance is a permanent life insurance policy and structured just like the IUL, except the way the cash value interest is accumulated.
In an IUL you are invested into stock indices, while with a universal life policy the interest earned is declared each year by the insurance carrier.
Minnesota Life offers 3 universal life options. They are called:
- Accumulator Universal Life
- CareShield Universal Life
- SecureCare Universal Life
Accumulator Universal Life
The Accumulator Universal Life focuses on building cash value. Premiums are flexible but not guaranteed.
The lowest interest that this policy can earn is 2%. WriteFit (no exam required) is available for consumers who want to avoid an exam and obtain faster approval.
CareShield Universal Life
CareShield Universal Life is Minnesota Life’s guaranteed universal life product. If you are looking a low cost permanent policy with a guaranteed premium, then CareShield is your answer.
Premiums on the CareShield are guaranteed to age 121. These policies do build up some cash value but are designed to keep premiums as low as possible.
The two built in living benefits features is what makes the CareShield UL stand out. These features allow a cash payout for a qualifying critical or terminal illness.
CareShield UL also comes with a return of premium feature that allows you to cash in and receive 100% of premiums paid in, should you no longer need the life insurance anymore.
SecureCare Universal Life
SecureCare UL is a short pay universal life policy with Long Term Care insurance attached. This policy offers three guarantees:
- Guaranteed death benefit payout
- Guaranteed long term care benefits
- Guaranteed return of premium
The guaranteed death benefit is between the lesser of $10,000 or 10% of the policy death benefit. This means if you use the entire death benefit for long term care needs, the policy will pay a small lump sum to your beneficiaries.
The income stream from the long term care insurance is guaranteed if you are diagnosed with a qualifying event. The policy can be used for many different qualifying benefits, including:
The SecureCare also comes with a guaranteed return of premiums after 6 years. This means you can get 100% of premium back if you decide you don’t need the policy anymore.
The benefit period for the SecureCare UL are 2 or 3 year options on the base policy, and you can extend that by adding an extension agreement for a period of 2-4 years. This would give you a maximum benefit period of 7 years.
Multiple Premium Payment Options including:
- Single pay
- 5 Pay
- 7 Pay
- 10 Pay
- 15 Pay
The agreement provides four inflation protection options:
- 3% simple interest
- 3% compound interest
- 5% simple interest
- 5% compound interest
Accidental Death Insurance
- Up to $250,000 of coverage is available at affordable rates
- As long as you are over the age of 18, you cannot be turned down for this protection
- Single coverage covers you alone
- Family coverage protects your spouse or domestic partner and dependent children at a percentage of your coverage amount
You have 30 days to decide if this coverage is right for you. If during the 30-day review period you decide for any reason this is not for you, simply contact the insurance company to receive a full refund of any premium you have paid during the 30-day review period.
1. All benefit amounts reduce by 50% at age 70. If you are age 70 or older when you apply, the amount of coverage you selected is automatically reduced by 50%.
2. If you elect family coverage, a benefit in the amount of 60% of the coverage you choose will be paid in the event of your spouse’s or domestic partner’s covered loss if you do not have dependent children; 50% if you have dependent children.
A benefit in the amount of 25% of coverage you choose will be paid in the event of your dependent child’s covered loss. In Louisiana, family coverage covers you, your spouse and dependent children.
In Colorado, family coverage covers you, your spouse or partner in a civil union and dependent children.
All customers over age 18 who reside in the U.S., are eligible for accidental death insurance coverage. When purchasing coverage, all eligible customers may also insure their spouse or domestic partner and their unmarried dependent children by selecting family coverage.
Dependent children are defined as those under age 19, but children age 19 and under age 26 may be covered if they are full-time students in an accredited college, university, vocational or technical school and dependent upon the insured for financial support.
Final Thoughts
Minnesota Life and Securian Financial are the cream of the crop when it comes to life insurance companies in America. They have a wide variety of insurance options, while boasting some of the best ratings around.
We are not saying theat Minnesota Life fits everyone, but they are good place to start when purchasing life insurance. If you have any questions or need a quote please let us know.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Minnesota Life the same company as Securian Financial?
Minnesota Life is the largest affiliate company of Securian Financial Group, Inc. Securian Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company that offers a wide range of insurance and financial services across America.
In 2018, Minnesota Life adopted its parent company’s brand, and is now known as Securian Financial.
What are Minnesota Life's ratings?
AM Best: A+ Superior
S&P: AA- Strong
Fitch: AA- Strong
Moody’s: Aa3 Low risk
What types of insurance products does Securian Financial offer?
Securian Financial offers a variety of insurance products for its consumers:
Term Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance
Universal Life InsuranceGuaranteed Universal Life
Indexed Universal Life
Variable Universal Life
Long Term Care Insurance
Accidental Death Insurance
Accident Insurance
Critical Illness
Hospital Indemnity
Annuities
Retirement Plans
Trust Services
Credit Protection
